An electronic device that selectively provides a recommendation is described. During operation, the electronic device may acquire, using one or more sensors, a measurement within an environment that is external to the electronic device, where the measurement provides information associated with a person located in a driver's position or seat in a vehicle, and the measurement includes a non-contact measurement. Then, the electronic device may assess situational awareness of the person based at least in part on the measurement. Moreover, the electronic device may receive a request associated with a partial or fully autonomous vehicle application to transition to manual control of the vehicle. In response to the request, the electronic device may selectively provide the recommendation to the partial or fully autonomous vehicle application to transition to manual control of the vehicle based at least in part on the situational awareness.